5 Middle School ELA Game Ideas

I believe some serious learning can happen in a classroom full of fun and games. If you are looking for fun ELA activities and games that middle schoolers love, then you are in for a treat! My last middle school ELA game post was such a hit that I wanted to provide even more ELA game ideas for middle schoolers! Cheryl Rizzo, a playful middle school ELA teacher in New York City, joins us today to share 5 more ELA game ideas to engage students and get them excited about learning!

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Mrs. Rizzo is a NYCDOE Big Apple finalist, recipient of the grand prize FLAG Award for teaching excellence highlighting creativity in the classroom, and is included in the prestigious Marquis Who’s Who in America registry. Read on to see how Cheryl keeps it all “fun and games” for middle school students.

I’m one of those “extra” middle school ELA teachers and proud of it. I love dressing up, bringing in props, and creating engaging learning experiences for my students. However, it doesn’t always take a lot of effort to engage a classroom full of energetic teens.

First of all, almost anything you do in the classroom can be made into an ELA game with a simple timer, some competition, and a sweet treat. If you are looking for some “out of the box” ways to play a game- you can grab one you already own and repurpose it! If you are ready for the ultimate gaming experience, you can look to transform your room into a game show- I “Double Dare” you!

Use a game in a box in an out of the box way!

If you have ever had your students play the game “Apples to Apples,” you have heard the exciting chatter about which card is the better match, felt the tension during decision making, and witnessed the smiles. As an ELA teacher, I too was smiling because I “tricked” them into some grammatical work- matching nouns and adjectives! Even more importantly they were examining the nuances of words, learning synonyms, categorizing, determining importance, and creating arguments! I knew that I needed to harness the excitement of this game to create something tangible- a finished project. This was the first time I used a game that came in a box in an “out of the box” way. We created “Apples to Apples” poetry! Some students played the game as directed and then before moving on to a new round, used the cards to develop a poem around a central adjective card (green) and develop that idea with the noun cards (red). The synonyms on the green cards helped to develop the lines of the poem. Others simply sorted through the stacks of cards and made various connections along the way. It was amazing to see the poem develop with the manipulation of the cards! Some poems were silly and funny, and others were unexpected and deep. For further motivation, we made a game out of this game. Working in groups, students had a specific amount of time to create “Apples to Apples” poetry, shared the poems with the class, and then we voted on the class favorite!

Take a prop from a game and connect to a reading, writing, or speaking skill!

Facts, opinions, informed opinions, tone… how can we detect what is true or false, or partly true, or biased? To emphasize this, I started the reading lesson with a lie detector game. We had a great discussion about how the way someone says something may be more powerful than what they are saying! So, we carefully looked for bias and informed opinions in our texts. Of course, one of the first questions a student asked another using the detector was “who’s your favorite teacher?” Talk about being put on the spot! 😉 However, now we are savvy readers who can find the “hidden” opinions and uncover the bias. Wondering how I thought of repurposing the lie detector from the game? The “flashbulb prop” idea is from the inspirational book, Keeping the Wonder! Think about what flashbulb prop you may find hiding inside the box of a game you own! The possibilities are endless!

Transform your classroom into aN ela game show!

I double dare you to transform your room into a game show! I think the most common game show played in classrooms is Jeopardy, but why stop there? When Double Dare was revived for a new season on Nickelodeon with host Liza Koshy along with the legendary Marc Summers, I saw it as an opportunity to have a shared experience with my students. They too were watching and loving the game show the way I did way back when! With this option, the fun begins even before the game. Students can design some of the questions or challenges. They can also create the props and come to a consensus about the rules. I will also say that I applied some of the brilliant Building Book Love’s ideas such as literary yoga as a physical challenge! What is your favorite game show? Consider how you can bring elements of it into your classroom. It will be a fun, unforgettable experience for all.

Play ELA guessing games!

The simplest form of a game that most of us have played from a young age is “can you guess”- what number I’m thinking of, what color I’m thinking of… can you guess what I’m about to suggest? Bring back the guessing game but this time make it an educational guess- the fancy inference! Here are a few ways this can be applied: Poetry Riddles are a fun way to get the students interested in writing poetry. Emily Dickinson is famous for writing these and can serve as a model. Students then can take turns guessing the subject of the poem; whoever guesses the most correct wins the game. Another option is “Mystery Bags.” The bags are filled with objects or pictures related to a particular theme which can relate to a novel being read, a unit of study, or provide a topic for writing. On a basic level, students are grouped, and they discuss what they see as they take out one item from the bag at a time. Then, they make associations with each object and try to make connections between the objects to derive the theme. Whichever group correctly guesses first wins. If you want to bring this to another level, each group gets a different mystery bag and after each group presents the determined theme, they must calculate the theme that ties all of the different bags together! Another awesome idea is the “Mystery Suitcase” found in the book, Keeping the Wonder. Slowly introduce items from the suitcase to the class so they can make inferences through discussion. In this way, you can make a game out of introducing a new book or unit!

Realize that anything can become a game!

Who can create a Wordle in the shortest amount of time with accuracy? Who can complete the question trail first to become the student trail guides? (You can find more detail about this one in Keeping the Wonder!) By holding up your “A-B-C-D” cards, which group can answer the multiple-choice questions in sync- the fastest with the most accuracy? Creating a game framework for an assignment provides motivation because there is limited time provided and something is at stake. It is amazing how a lollipop, the promise of power, or some extra credit can be so motivating to a student. In the real world, we often work for reward and so creating that structure can lead to improved engagement and productivity.

Roald Dahl one said, “Life is more fun if you play games.” When we have fun, we are comfortable, make connections, and are capable of learning more. So go ahead and play more games and have more fun; you will build rapport with your students, have an engaging classroom environment, and learn more in the process! Know what else would be fun- please feel free to message me @teaching_is_my.superpower on Instagram and share some ideas! Now, let the games begin!

Thank you Cheryl for the fun ELA game inspiration! For even more middle school ELA game ideas, keep reading here:

We all know English teachers are magical, but what’s your biggest ELA engagement superpower? Take this quiz to find out!